"I will of course try to win the race, but I will probably have in the back of my mind that we want to take as many points as possible and try to win the championship. We need a bit of luck with what happens behind us," Verstappen said after the race.
Holding pole position has historically been important in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Since 2015, every driver who has started on pole has also won the race.
Verstappen finished with a margin of two tenths ahead of second-place Lando Norris, McLaren, whose teammate Oscar Piastri finished third.
It is precisely this trio that will compete for the World Championship title, a battle that will be decided in Sunday's race.
Lando Norris leads the overall standings by 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen and 16 points ahead of Oscar Piastri. It will take different amounts for each driver to take home the title.
+ Norris needs to take a podium or get ahead of Verstappen and Piastri to win.
+ Verstappen needs a podium finish. If the Red Bull driver wins the race, Norris can finish at most fourth. If the Dutchman finishes second or third, Norris can finish at most eighth or ninth, respectively, for Verstappen to claim his fifth consecutive world title.
+ Piastri needs to win, while Norris will finish at most fifth. If Piastri finishes second, Norris and Verstappen will have to finish at most tenth and fourth respectively.
